ROCKLIN, Calif. — The Sierra College football team is off to one of their best starts in recent years and currently ranked 5th in the state, however, it's what the team is doing off the field that's translating to their success on it.
"It's really turned into a team bonding thing," stated kicker Logan Shepard. "We have a team of 90 guys and it's tough to meet everybody, so this helped us out."
Every Thursday evening, you can find the football team bonding, sharing a meal, and taking their minds off the grind of the sport.
The Thursday night dinners were started over a year ago by Logan and his mother Debbie Shepard, in their backyard. After dozens of players started showing up, they outgrew their backyard and moved the dinners to a larger space inside of Bayside Granite Bay.
"It actually warms my heart," stated Debbie. "It's a beautiful thing to see these boys come together and just be in the moment. They don't have to worry about paying for their food. They can just be a kid." Debbie is responsible for cooking and preparing the meals each week.
With players on the team who come from all over the world, having a home-cooked meal, served with love, makes all the difference.
"We have a guy from the Netherlands. We have a guy from Australia. We have guys from Virginia, Minnesota," explained Logan.
"It feels good...just to have people that care about you and support you in any type of way possible," stated Ginneral Bright, defensive lineman. "There's nothing that can beat that."
"I'm from across the world, and guys from all over across the United States have a place to come together and bond in real life," stated Jasper Djouma, from Netherlands. "I think that's very special and I'm appreciative of that."
Whatever happens to be in the food may be the secret to the team's success.
"Every time we did dinner, we won. The one time we didn't do dinner, we lost," explained Logan.
"I feel like in a world where everyone's talking about 'we're so divided.' And I look at this, and I'm like 'we are anything but divided,'" stated Debbie.
Watch more local sports stories from ABC10: High School Football Game of the Week: Elk Grove Thundering Herd vs Jesuit Marauders
